Abstract
Liposteroid was administered intravenously to 6 patients with refractory epileptic spasms. In one case, the spasms initially disappeared but then reappeared after three months. Another case had a transient and slight decrease of epileptic spasms. In the only patient in whom spasms disappeared, EEG abnormalities were greatly improved with diffuse spikes and waves changing into focal spikes. Two cases displayed hyperexcitability, insomnia and acting out behavior, and the therapy was discontinued in one of them. One case had appetite loss and another showed an increase in tonic seizures. No patient had serious adverse effects such as infection, edema, subdural hematoma and brain shrinkage. Although liposteroid therapy has been recommended as an easy, useful and safe alternative for ACTH, we found considerable adverse effects and only a small effect on refractory spasms, and conclude that the regimen should be modified.
